Hostel 4U Lisboa

The rooms were simple but clean, and a basic breakfast and coffee came with the stay. The hostel is well placed in Lisbon's shopping and restaurant district. That central location also means street noise all day and night. With single-pane windows, trucks and motorcycles racing up the street seemed to come straight through the room. I may have slept only 3 hours, and then only once the people in the next room stopped talking at 2 am. We could hear every word through the closed connecting door.

The rooms were a good size and cleaned daily, and the staff arranged a balcony after we requested one. But the air conditioning was as loud as a jet engine, audible through the hallway doors. The lift often didn't work, and it was switched off from 10pm - 5am. Sometimes it took you to your floor and wouldn't open, though pressing another level let you get back out. I found most reception staff unfriendly and uninterested in us. One guy, with black hair and from Alfama, was the exception. There wasn't much of a traveller community or any evening events, which were the hostel features we were hoping for. Breakfast was included, but dull: very thick toast, lukewarm yogurt that had split, overly sweet machine coffee, and awful juice drinks. There's a supermarket further up the hill where you can buy good pana-chocolate the night before. The place is a good price if all you need is somewhere to crash, but it misses a lot of the little hostel extras.

The central, safe location is the best feature. Popular sights are close: Rossio square and praca do commercio are about a 5-minute walk, Lisbon Cathedral is 5 minutes away, and Castle de Jorge is roughly a 15-minute walk with a climb. There's an elevator from the supermarket. Metro, train, tram, bus, and sea port links are nearby, and you can take trains to Sintra and Cascious. We could get around Lisbon and travel to other parts of Portugal easily, and the fare was economical for the location. There's also a supermarket nearby for snacks, and the hostel can book city tours, including hop in hop off tours. Rooms are small but clean and well maintained, with a trendy design. The staff were hospitable and gave us good touring advice. Breakfast starts at 7.30, has a fixed menu each day, and is filling, though staying 2 to 3 days might make the same menu noticeable. Luggage storage is available if you check out early. You also deposit 5 Euro for the room key, refundable when you return it. A nice place to stay on a reasonable budget. Don't miss a walk around the lively nearby areas in the evening, especially during the last 20 days of December.

It was a noisy hostel, especially with a room near the elevator, and the staff weren't friendly. I had to pay upfront. When I asked for a good restaurant with live fadomusic, they sent me to a restaurant owned by the same person, but there was no live music.